3:12 powerpoint presentation within a video that’s basically a powerpoint presentation. Swords!! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ZrpooJZytLzDeY0.html Please consider supporting the channel =) 🔸PATREON (blog, art): www.patreon.com/Linfamy 🔸MERCH: teespring.com/stores/linfamy (shirts, stickers, phone cases, and more!) 🔸DONATE: www.paypal.me/Linfamy

The only true reason: Because they just looked more aesthetically pleasing that way.

"They have curved swords. Curved. Swords." - some random guards in Skyrim

Hi. I'm a bladesmith ❤️I forge Japanese swords for over 6 years. The reason why tachi is more curve is that it has thinner motokasane and wider motohaba and longer blade it produce moto-sori at tachi The sword start to warp much curve because of those reason that's why tanto doesn't have much curvature even at yakiire or differential hardening In general idea the tachi was much curve because of longer proportion the warping happened in longer blades

Curved swords have the added advantage of being less likely to be stuck while slashing. If you look at Calvary that used straight swords they preferred use the point rather than slash.

A better question would be why is the katana so bad ass; it’s the only sword ever used in modern pop culture

"cuz they look cool" - Japanese Man

And remember when you have no other choice, switching to your pistol is faster than reloading your sword ie Isshin the Sword Saint.

I'm pretty sure it's curved for two main reasons: 1) The wielder knows which direction the blade is facing while the sword is sheathed 2) It's easier to draw a curved sword

Erections, curves, differential hardening! That joke is worth two thumbs up. (I can do that, I was born in Chicago)

Linfamy makes me differentially harden. I wouldn’t mind him curving me over 😳

You sir! You're now my Japanese History Sensei! Love learning history from you!

The right answer of where the tachi with a nakago is actually, both of these things. Early Yamato Den from Nara made swords in the Jokuto style, even going into heian period which is why Buddhist Ken swords/tanto are straight. The school that made Warabite-tou was called Mokusa, and essentially what happened was that the Yamato Den smiths making Jokuto, were making swords in the North for their warriors to use, and in the process adapted the Koshizori from the Warabite-tou. The construction of the Kenukigata no tachi is exactly the same, in terms of how it was smoothed to the nakago tachi, the type of Koshirae isn't so important. All of this led to Mokusa making nakago tachi but with the warabite smithing techniques, Yamato den eventually making curved tachi in the Amakuni school and Senjuin school and the Sanjo smiths making curved nakago tachi in Yamshiro as well as the foundation of the kobizen school. IE. The origins of the Japanese sword as we know it, is from both the Jokuto AND the Warabite.

The legendary WAnker vs. DWeeb debates. I remember reading about them in high school.

Reasons why I watch linfamy: 70% history lessons, 20% his voice acting, 10% girl crush haha

"Why Are Japanese Swords Curved?" Because they want to make it curved?

Ngl, “Differential Hardening” sounds like an early sign of erectile dysfunction

I think the Japanese wanted to be quirky and unique, not like the other girls

PERSON 1: I love Katana PERSON 2: Yeah, especially her sexy body curves and... PERSON 1: Are we talking about the same sword? PERSON 2: What sword? I thought this was about the new Mortal Kombat game.

Fun fact: There are two types of automatic edge alignment: 1) if you got a forward curved blade like a Kukri or Yatagan, it acts like an axe in the at it wants to face the ground which makes it easy to hold the weapon correctly, even if the handle is round. 2) a backward bent wants to turn in your hand 180°, but when you swing it, the blade wants to turn the other way.

We should never discount the whims of fashion. "Hey the Chinese do it this way. Let's be cool like them.". "Those bad asses look cool with curved blades."

A curved blade and a straight single edged sword like the japanese daos, made from the same steel. The curved sword will be more resilient. Less like likely to break

"You fool!" *immediately thinks of Excalibur*

"you're a poppycock" oh my god. Never laughed so much

i agree with you. for the fight on horseback they switched

The technique and different materials (the metal is iron but the carbon count differs between back and front) are used to make the sword curve. While making it not curve is possible there really is little reason to do so. A curved blade from horseback is better but it also is beautiful. The katana is a work of art meant to be useful but primarily is meant to be a badge of station.I strongly recommend seeing how the blade is made by both Japanese traditionalist and those in the west trained in the technique. It is a lovely watch in time lapse.

I appreciate you trying the Japanese pronunciation and not slaughtering it. It’s actually pretty good! Your pitch accent is off but it’s acceptable. Thank you for actually learning how to pronounce it a little!

I honestly thought it had something to do with cutting, similar to the old guillotine. Because back at highschool I learned that the guillotines blade was originally flat, causing it to not always instakill and sometimes bounce back off of someone's nape. So they changed the blade to make it curve to slice better. So my thought process is, that it was used to either execute people in a more ''friendly'' way or for battle. However this is just my take on it, and its probably very wrong

We all gonna ignore how this man tortured a poor Pikachu for the purpose of this video?

Keep in mind, too, that with a lot of the Japanese swords- looking at you, katana- you ended up with different weapons depending on the length of the hilt. It's not impossible that older polearms were... not reforged, but remade or maybe remounted as mounted combat and combat in general started to mean less than having the sword on you as a status symbol and for gutting uppity peasants.

I love how he described "war"

Totally the content I watch at 3 am.

Look, just because I want to snort his ashes after he dies, to gain his historical powers, doesn't mean that I am a fanboy. Got me dead

Glorious Nippon steel folded 100000000 times to defend my waifu and tendies

"Nincompoop though" "Poppycock" Sounds like real life debating...

Alignment is the main thing. It’s actually quite difficult to get proper edge alignment with a straight sword because a two handed stroke has a rotating or rolling grip where the rear hand starts on the bottom & ends up on the top.

"Whatever the case, after the curve tachi, the Japanese had a fever, and the only prescription was..." More Cowbells? "...more curved sword." Christopher Walken isn't getting those golden plated diapers.

Simplest answer: (For long swords) Curved swords are easier to unsheathe

This is a really cool channel. Thanks as always man!

One thing not mentioned in the vid. Speed and ease of draw. Curved bladed swords are easier,and faster, to draw than straight ones of the same length. Also, you deliver more force and get a better cut with a curved blade as apposed to a irregular chop with a straight one.

I'm still waiting for that Japanese swear words video...

If anyone tells me that one day I will watch Wanker(William Anker) and Dweeb(David Weeb) debating about Japanese sword an hour early before I watch this video, I would think you've lost your mind.

I differentially harden in the bedroom.

BTW the chokuto was straight because it was quench at opposite side just like katana-kitchen knife that is made nowadays in Japan

*”What is Tachi with an extra I?”* *”Itachi”* “Wow, didn’t know you got it that fast”

In this way, the Japanese sword is made so that it can cut things by rotating it around the center of gravity without pushing or pulling it. The sword with a bracken shaped grip was found in the Tohoku region of ancient Japan. Warabite sword is also preserved in Shoso-in Temple. It's called warabitekatana, Warabite sword is one of the Japanese iron swords Some of rare examples are warabi-teto (which is called Kurozukuritachi in Shosoin) and kurotsukuri-no-tachi which have been housed in Shosoin since the Nara period, and kurourushi-no-tachi from the Heian period housed in Kurama-dera Temple in Kyoto, which is said to have been carried by SAKANOUE no Tamuramaro. For example, Fushu's warabite-to (curved swords) were developed into a kind of sword, Kenukigata Tachi (Tachi with a shape of tweezer), that would be used by samurai Fushu were superior in fighting on horseback, and the warabite-to (curved sword), an unsheathed sword used on a horse, became the original shape of Kenukigata-Tachi (hair-tweezers-shaped Tachi [big sword]) that developed into Japanese swords. Although relics of swords from the early Heian period are scarce, and the transition of styles or how and when Japanese original curved swords were formed are not fully figured out academically, after the mid Heian period (around the 10th century), when the turmoil of Johei and Tengyo occurred, Warabiteno Katana (curved sword) which was easy to use when riding with its warped body of blade was used instead of conventional straight swords.

My problem with the "horseback theorie" is that you do not hace to slash while being monted. Were are many exemples of cavalary blades, that are straight (Scythians, Romans, Medieval Knights, sudanese nomads, Tuaregs, most militaries after Napoleon).

It seems like a combination of aesthetics, practicality in manufacturing, and ease of use. You see a lot of convergent design on curved single edge swords of about that length (sabre, shamshir, etc.) and they make certain actions, mostly hooking and cutting behind the opponents blade a lot easier. The most interesting thing in many ways is that they use a two handed grip on a blade of that length.

Thank you for addressing most of the questions I have about Japanese swords.

I agree with your point, but i fell that you missed something: a curved blade usually also breaks less due to the fact that the shape distributes the stress along the sword

Old Japan: Swords, bows and wepons all over Now: We dont do that here sorry.

As a former debater of my college, I like how you uses the debate of the subject. 😃

“A Baka-Neko? Must be a really dumb cat then…” (The best joke you have ever heard)

I absolutely condemn the Pikachu abuse in this video

You see those warriors from the East? They've got curved swords. Curved. Swords.

There is a lot of occasions in history where there’s a question about how things got planned. A lot of the time, that’s the mistake right there. The curved swords were probably the best sword to use from horse back but if you’re planning an attack lances or bows would be the first choices. I’m saying that they MIGHT have used swords, even trained on how to use them from horse back, this might have made them more popular than other types but it’s fairly unlikely that this was a primary driver. Keep in mind that today most military forces still train with knives, bare hands and so on. To my knowledge no one plans attacks with these as the primary weapons.

Depending on how hard it is to keep a blade straight during diferential hardening there might've also been an economic/time incentive

Question is - did that Pikachu survived or killed for demonstration 😹😹😹😹😹

I was really triggert when I read the title that Differential hardening is the reason for the japanese to use curved blades and I was about to write a comment 5 times longer than this one too explain that it is edge alignment what makes a curved sword better for cutting than a straight one. Thanks for saving me the effort to do that.

"the japanese had a fever and the only prescription was more CURVED. SWORDS." has me dying

Hardening when heated is _not_ a property of metals in general, but only of high-carbon steel.

"It has something to do with Inertia... and Albert Einstein... probably" Well.. yes. You now how the japanese believed that swords had souls? It was actually one soul, that of Albert Einstein.

the real question is: "why are curves katanated?"

My first thought (as an aerospace enthusiast) was the curve helped lower the drag as the blade travels through the air, similar to a swept wing on a jet. Then i remembered this is a muscle-powered weapon, it is not going to go fast enough for drag to make enough of a difference to justify designing a new type of weapon.

The reasons are a mix of: 1. Materials available. 2. Performance. 3. Usage. 4. Culture. (without using japanese terms :D) Because of the type of iron ore, they had specific smelting and smithing techniques that made them able to make the edge strong steel and core/back softer steel. The strong steel was waaay harder to make, and the soft steel was basically an abundant waste product from that process. So economically it made sense to use more soft steel in their blades as well. Using two different types of steel in one blade basically makes a curved design a lot better and way more resilient when they came up with the hard edge, soft core idea. Also having one edge is a lot cheaper (less harder steel) and easier to maintain (sharpen) then when having two edges. The advantage on horseback is probably just a bonus, because as stated in the video, they usually used other weapons on horseback anyway. The usage also plays an important role. As drawing a curved blade is faster than a straight blade and quicker/easier to align. Because of the culture, quick draw time could decide life or death. As mentioned in the video as well, there weren't often very large scale battles where people used swords. They were often used by samurai which were basically noble men sipping tea and visiting others when something happened. Also the curvature differs based on time periods of peace and war. Usually they were a bit more straight during war periods and had a bigger cutting tip. But were more curved with smaller tip in peaceful periods. Probably because too much curve will make your reach suffer a bit, but was more esthetically pleasing to look at (just like a smaller tip was prettier). Their main usage was a status symbol after all.

A

I dont know why but the "Your a poppycock" response made me burst out laughing

Now That's a million-dollar question

The reason I’m almost 100% sure is because when you have a curved blade like that, it automatically orients to perpendicular. Glancing blows are harder to do. Also when entering material, it gradually rolls into the cut, helping distribute the force evenly. I think some upward curve came from quenching, and then was later accentuated. However they came up with the metallurgical process is beyond me. It’s seriously like alien tech. It’s like they had modern instruments to test and develop techniques

I think the reason the curved happened was out of ease of use on horseback, not for slashing, but having a straight sword bounce around like crazy is hard to get a grip on if you actually need it while a koshizori curved tachi moves less because its aligned with your body. Other reasons include durability. Tachi, even with blocky af heian period construction broken remarkably less than chokuto, most likely for as you said, the edge alignment reason.

i feel like this have been touched on your video about all of Japanese sword. So the early minutes feel like a rehash. But I enjoyed the later part of video

Also you should talk about curved blades in Japan are made from two grades of steel - basically a metal taco where the jacket is softer the core tamahagane

we never think of the posibility that "I don't know, it looks kinda cool" -some bladesmith "You're right, it does" -some random dude wanting a sword

No Pikachu plushie hurt during the making of this video

Which is also why its a big deal when Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X uses the reverse-blade sword, it shows his skill because its essentially an opposite aim-bot

Katana used on horse back is called “do tanuki.” It’s much longer than regular katana so it reaches enemies on ground.

the difference in tempering between the blade and the back of the blade also makes it curve when you quench the sword. I've seen a katana being forged then dipped in a glass container full of water(to demonstrate what happens when a blade is quenched). The blade curves forward then backwards as it cools in the water.

I do agree that the best reason is edge alignment.the blade naturally positions itself for better slashing and a straight blade would be easier to break then a katana because of the angle of contact when struck.

1. Maybe the curve made it easier for drawing and controlling the curve was due to looking for that balance of easy to draw, helps slashing (plus they figured out how to maximize this with how your wrists do the cutting motion), doesn't give up too much for stabbing between breastplate joints, easy to reinsert into the sheath, etc. Contrast this with how very long (because they're high up on a horse vs infantry who may have spears) straight heavy cavalry swords that were used by the Roman/Byzantine and Chinese empires were sometimes strapped to the front of the saddle and the rider has a shorter sword on him for if he gets knocked off his mount. And as for the Franks' long straight swords: 1) they had shields, and huge ones earlier on; and 2) they had maces and hammers as lower maintenance (vs swords) backups to the lance. Which would be cost/time/effort-effective (even if just for their page) if you're just going after some poor peasant that was lucky enough to be issued a helmet, which half the time was probably during a rout. Think of this like how a sushi chef uses an expensive Shirogami #1 yanagi to slice expensive chutoro but a yakitori (or ramen) chef uses an SK tool steel or Hitachi yellow steel honesuki to carve a chicken with a lot of bones. 2. Maybe we're not looking at the other angle enough. Instead of just thinking of whether this is better from horseback either for fighting or drawing, what if it was also because the curved sword had some kind of advantage against the sort of armor they went up against? Goguryeo, Silla, maybe even the Tang initially when they still had straight swords might have worn armor that presented a problem for straight swords; then their own O-Yoroi later on might have been made to counter this; then finally whatever the Mongols (and the conquered Song) had. I can't think of what that might be, BUT something might have been figured out while Yamato was helping out Baekje. 3. It might not even be opposing armor. It might be that the advantage in slashing also means they more easily cut through or otherwise not get caught on branches so you don't accidentally (and comically) lose your sword when chasing somebody anywhere that isn't a wide open field. Like when they first ones to get the title Shogun (not Yoritomo) went after the Emishi. Then it persisted partly because of the curve having other advantages on horseback and partly because they had an incentive to chase routing enemies running into what sometimes might be more wooded areas (even if they weren't sadistic or extremely utilitarian in depriving the enemy of manpower): they had to take heads.

As a bladesmith, 99% of these comments are killing me. The tachi was developed after much complaining about swords breaking. So smiths developed bimetal blades that were differentially hardened to stop that issue (both of those traits are important, not just the latter). Those traits make a blade curve during the quench... and some people didn't like that curve, so smiths forged in a countercurve before quenching, and that was the norm for a very short while... but it takes RIDICULOUSLY rare skill to do that and have a perfectly straight result that also still has proper proportions of the bimetal makeup... and since demand for durable swords was greater than supply of smiths who could make them bimetal, dif har, AND straight... the natural result of the more durable method won and became ubiquitous. And then the compositions evolved into more than two types of steel in some blades, because smiths were free to let it curve as it will... that's why many swords of the same length and composition and era wildly differed in curve: because the mandate wasn't to curve to any specific degree or not, it was to be durable (bimetal with dif har) and let the curve be whatever it naturally is for that particular blade ... that's why they say the blades are alive and gain their soul during the quench when they curve, because the smith doesn't and can't control the EXACT degree of curve, the blade lives and grows on its own when it curves. It wasn't about cavalry or JUST about differential hardening, but it was partly about the latter... and you're mostly right when you say it was about the latter, or at least mostly on the trail of becoming right.

I love your videos great work 🙇🏻‍♂️

1:34 the name of that a word is almost like itachi

Before I watch: by accident. They were trying to make what we would now call ninjato, but since the clay-covered spine cools slower in the quench, the sword gains the slight curve. Got to the point in the video where it was mentioned. The curve on a katana isn’t nearly enough to improve slashing. To be honest, the curve isn’t really enough to help edge alignment, either. Especially considering that a katana’s hilt has a nearly elliptical cross-section, which is more important for edge alignment.

I think that the Horse Back theory is a better explanation Because, in India, in Ancient period, the Straight Swords like Khanda where popular, but in the Mediaeval period, as the Chariots where replaced by Horses, the Straight Swords like Khanda become more of a Prosperity and Religious symbol and the Curved Swords like Talwar (which you have shown in a picture btw) dominated the battlefield The use of Talwar became so Common that, the word Talwar is used for Sword in many Languages

I think you got it wrong about the Differential Hardening and the roll the clay plays. The clay doesn't cause the curve of the sword, but the difference in carbon composition in the steal used to make the Edge and the Back of the sword. The clay is used for esthetic purposes as it leaves a mark in on the blade. Sword smiths would use it to give the sword beautiful designs on the blade like paintings.

I think the big difference between the Western sword and the Japanese sword is "straight movement" and "circular movement". When "Aikido" will be compared with "karate" in a martial art also, may it be a fascinating comment? 西洋の刀と日本の刀の大きな違いは、「直線的な運動」と「円の運動」だと思います。 あと、武道において「空手」と「合気道」を比べてみると面白い論評になるかも？

Curved blades cut better. Simple. Fibonacci sequence confirmed. Perfection Achieved. Enough said.

I’ve literally never even had any thought regarding this but now I’m super intrigued *clicks video*

my answer before watching the video because when you swing that thing it goes in an arc, it made for slashing not bashing. it is also easier to take out.

I have never been this early, I started watching your videos after the Genpei War btw 😳

A cut with a curved blade is more effective when used in fast strikes with the body's momentum behind it. The Japanese sword fighting style was best used for a single, quick strike that the opponent can't react fast enough to block.

My theory is that they thought curved swords looked better. People like to dress fashionable and curved swords do look nice. And that is why my favourite sword is the sabre

My reasoning is that the curved blade makes it even easier to slash, when swords like the claymore were used more to hack with, so the blade cannot be withdrawn as quickly.

I always though the reason would mostly be because japanese swords had just 1 bladed edge so making curved to people know which side to use and being easy to cut (As you said on the video)

Yay a new episode of weapons with linfamy

That pikachu was like 😳

A point about "controlling the curve". Just because you can control it doesn't mean that it's an easy process. I imagine that attempting to differentially harden a straight sword and preventing it from curving is a far more exacting process than trying to generate a curved blade. If the intent is to generate a curved blade, then the depth of the curve can fluctuate a bit without it being a big deal. But if the intent is to generate a straight blade, then the margin for error has to be within your ability to correct via grinding.

Whatever the reason was for making the blade curved, I'm thankful for, because the art of iaido was born from having the blades made that way. I don't think it would be possible to perform iaido with a straight blade or at the very least it would be difficult to perform, not to mention the number of Saya's (scabbard) you would break or crack along the way for attempting to do so.

I like the FF7 sound efx when the finger shows up.

Most amount of education in a comical brief well done grasshopper or Master I think he is very wise one of great thinking